Landscaping Maintenance Tips: 3 Easygoing Ground Cover Plants
An emerald expanse of turf: It’s a key ingredient in the American dream, along with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids. However, many Americans bemoan the landscaping maintenance grass requires. From regular mowing to consistent application of fertilizer, the all-American ground cover is certainly high-maintenance. Michael Pollan has gone so far as to describe his time behind a Toro mower as “Sisyphean.” He also points out that grass receives more pesticide and herbicide per acre than any crop. Finally, our lawns hog precious water. With these turf disadvantages in mind, many people are looking for ways to remove lawn care from their landscape maintenance to-do lists.
Portland, Oregon residents are blessed to live in a zone where many different types of ground covers will happily grow – oftentimes with no fertilizer or pesticide applications. Portland landscape maintenance experts recommend the following species as easy-to-grow lawn substitutes:
1. Blue Star Creeper
Imagine a natural carpet of starry blue blossoms. Add tolerance to traffic and drought, and you have the Blue Star Creeper, a ground cover that stays evergreen in hardiness zone eight. (Hardiness zones are important to keep in mind when planning for long-term landscape maintenance; Portland, Oregon is in zone eight, meaning its lowest lows usually fall between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit.) To stay green all year long, Blue Star Creeper needs some shade during the hottest summer days.
2. New Zealand Brass Buttons
Landscape maintenance gurus adore this New Zealand native because it adds interesting color all year long. In the spring, it blooms with cheerful yellow flowers. Summertime brings unusual gray-green tones, while this plant’s soft fronds turn a beautiful bronze color in the fall. If you use New Zealand Brass Buttons to replace your lawn in Portland, landscape maintenance time will plummet. Two things to know about this low-maintenance ground cover: It dies back in the winter, so it’s not a good choice if you must have year-round greenery. Also, it can spread aggressively, so if that concerns you, be sure to contain it with edging material.
3. Scotch or Irish Moss
Scotch moss features chartreuse foliage, while Irish moss is more evergreen in coloration. Both grow to a height of 3-4 inches, and each plant can spread as much as 10-15 inches! Furthermore, both varieties can be cultivated from cuttings, saving you landscape maintenance money down the road. If you’re looking for a soft, evergreen carpet that can take light foot traffic and prefers light shade during the hottest days, Scotch or Irish moss is perfect for you.
As you select a low-maintenance ground cover to replace your lawn, feel free to mix and match species – remember, the more diversity in your landscape, the fewer problems you’ll have with pests. Finally, to prevent ground covers from taking over, contain them with a barrier of some sort; wood or brick edging usually suffices.
